Rotary engine.



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PATENTED 00T. 11, 1904.

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ROTARY ENGINE.

' APPLIGATION FILED JULY 9, 190s.

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ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1903.

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@Mounts No. 772,265. PATENTED 00T. ll, 1904.

` C. W. AKERS.

RTARY ENGINE. AP1 LI0ATI0N FILED JULY 9, 1903.

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M @11 Wa?? 'aug Smm/1w UNITED STATES Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofrLetters Patent No. 772,265, dated October 11, 1904. Application led July 9, 1903. Serial No. 164,838. (No model.)

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. AKERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bluefield, in the county of Mercer and State of West Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new' and useful improvements in rotary engines; and its object is to provide asimple device of this character which may be readily reversed by means of a novel valve employed in connection therewith.

Another object is to provide pistons having grooves therein which form fiat working faces adapted to be contacted by the motive fluid, and thereby increase the power of the engine.

A further object is to employ alternatelyoperating pistons having abutments bearing thereon, said abutments being provided with rocking shoes, whereby a smooth-running engine is produced. e p I With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of my invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through my improved engine. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3, Fig. l, and showing in dotted lines one of the positions assumed by the piston as it rotates. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the engine with the steam-chest removed. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the shoev of one of the abutments, and Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the slidevalve.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is the casing of the engine, having cylindrical piston-chambers 2 therein arranged at opposite sides of a central partition 3, and cylinder-heads 4 are secured in any suitable manner to the outer ends of the chambers 2 and are provided with glands 5, throughwhich extends a shaft 6. Oppositely-extending cylindrical pistons7 are secured to the shaft 6, and one piston is arranged in each chamber 2. These cylinders are eccentric with the shaft, and each is provided in that portion of its face farthest removed from the shaft 6 with parallel longitudinally-extending recesses 8, separated by a partition 9, integral with the piston. The recesses 8 are angular in form and present flat surfaces to the motive fluid when the same enters the distant piston-chambers 2. The power of the engine is thus considerably increased in view of the fact that a greater v purchase upon thepiston of the motive fluid can be obtained than where pistons having smooth surfaces are employed.

Arranged upon the casing 1 is apreferably rectangular casing 10, having recesses 11 therein substantially equal in length to the length of the chambers 2 and arranged directly above slots 12, formed in the tops of the chambers. Within each recess 11 is slidably mounted an abutment 13, the lower end of which is provided with a groove 13", within which is revolubly mounted a bead 14, which is arranged longitudinally upon a shoe 15, which is arched, as shown, and is concentric with the working face of the Vpiston 7 thereunder. The shoe 15 is of suicient length to extend over one of the grooves 8, so as to prevent the passage of the motive fluid in the wrong direction after it has been admitted to the piston-chambers. This shoe is held normally in contact with the piston 7 by means of a stem 17, extending from the abutment. A lever 18 is provided with slots 19 near its ends, within which are mounted pins 20, which extend laterally from the stems 17. This lever 18 is centrally fulcrumed, preferably upon a steam-inlet pipe 21, which opens into a steam-chest 22, arranged upon the casing 10 at apoint above the center thereof. The end lwall of the chambers 2 are provided with grooves 23 and the passage 11,'and these grooves serve as guides for the abutments 12 when they are projected downward into the piston-chambers.

Two exhaust-ports 24 and 25, respectively, are arranged in the top of casing 10 and within the steam-chest 22, and each of these ports communicates with two oppositely-extending passages 26 and 27 within the casing 10, and one of the passages, 26, opens into each chamber 2 at one side of the abutment 13 therein, while one passage, 27, opens into each IOO -rotate, and the abutments 13 will be alterchamber 2 at the other side of its abutment 13. An inlet-port 28 opens into each passage 26 and 27, and these ports all open into the steam-chest 22 near the ends thereof. A sliding valve 28 is mounted upon the casing 10 and within chest 22 and is adapted to be moved from front to rear of said chest. rI`his valve has a passage 29 therein, which registers at all times with a slot 30, formed within one side of the steam-chest, and extending' from the passage 29 is a forked passage, which is adapted to register with either the port 24 or 25.

When the port 24 registers with the passage 31, the port 25 is closed by the valve 28, as shown in Fig. 2, and the front inlet-ports 27Il are exposed, and steam is permitted to pass from the pipe 21, through chest 22, and around the valve 28 into the exposed ports and through its passages 26 to the communicating pistonchambers 2. The pistons 7 are thus caused to nately raised and lowered thereby, and the shoes 15 are held normally in contact with the pistons. The lever 18 insures the positive alternate operation of the abutment. By providing the recesses 8 within the pistons 7 the motive fluid will be free to pass from or into the passages 26 and 27 when the pistons are in a raised position` as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The slide-valve 28 may be operated in any suitable manner, and in Fig. 2 I have shown a lever 32, pivoted to the casing 1, connected to a valve-stem 32, which is secured to valve 28 and is slidably mounted in the chest 22.

A toothed segment 33 may be employed, whereby the lever may be locked in adjusted i position by means of a spring-pressed pawl 34 of ordinary form. It will be understood that when the motive fiuid enters one set of ports 27 a it will exhaust through the opposite port 24 or 25 into passages 31 and thence through passage 29 and slot 30.

In the foregoing description I have shown the preferred form of my invention; but I do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof. I therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having non-communicating piston1 chambers therein; of 'a second casing, similar pairs of oppositely-extending passages within said second casing, one passage of each pair opening into each chamber, an inlet-port to each passage, an exhaust-port communicating with each pair of passages, a chest upon the second casing and inclosing the ports, a slidevalve within the steam-chest, an exhaust-port therein, said port normally registering with one of the exhaust-ports in the second casing, and one pair of inlet-ports being normally closed by the slide-valve.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. AKERS.

Witnesses:

H. BLANCHARD, W. H. WHEELWRIGHT. 

